BREAKING: @IAM751 refuses to put Boeing’s second offer to a vote. https://t.co/cpRAaprcZe
— Jon Ostrower (@jonostrower) September 24, 2024
Boeing factory workers have been manning a picket line outside the company’s airplane factory in Renton, Washington, around the clock since the strike began earlier this month. Almost two weeks in, the largest strike currently underway in the US shows no signs of ending soon. Orlando, a quality inspector at Boeing, arrived at 3:45 am on Saturday.
“The cost of living is always going up,” he said, citing the need for wages to reflect this increase.
Boeing is sponsoring stories on Instagram for their second offer for the @iam751. pic.twitter.com/z5hBaXJyfs
— Jon Ostrower (@jonostrower) September 24, 2024
On Monday, Boeing tabled a new offer, but the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) declined to put it to a vote, complaining it had been “thrown at us without any discussion.”
Striking workers held up signs and waved to passing cars and trucks. Drivers honked in support, sometimes pulling over to chat.
Boeing workers are on week two of the biggest strike in America.
One worker broke down why they're determined to stay out as long as it takes in just 15 seconds. pic.twitter.com/2uqaT3xEEg
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) September 23, 2024
A loud blast from a semi-trailer truck’s horn briefly drowned out all other sounds. Due to fear of retaliation upon returning to work, many workers declined to give their full names. “We are feeling pretty good, and we feel that we have the strength,” said Maden, a 12-year quality control employee at the Renton facility.
He believes the general public is beginning to understand the workers’ grievances. “It looks like we always want money, but behind the scenes, it is more than that,” Maden said. Last weekend, workers brought along a portable charcoal barbecue and a poster depicting Boeing’s former CEO Dave Calhoun grinning and carrying away stacks of $100 bills.
The caption read, “WE MAKE THEM BILLIONS, THEY GIVE EACH OTHER MILLIONS.”
William Anderson, a licensed mechanic who has been with the company for 17 years, described a shift in the company’s culture. “When I was hired, people would hurt themselves just to get the interview to be part of Boeing,” Anderson said. “That culture is gone.” Younger workers, he claimed, are leaving for better offers due to a lack of incentives like pensions and great benefits.
Boeing workers demand fair wages
Some 33,000 workers at Boeing voted to strike after rejecting a tentative contract that proposed a 25% pay increase over four years. Pickets have also been ongoing outside the Everett factory and other facilities in Oregon and California.
“I’m feeling really good,” IAM District 751 president Jon Holden said at the Renton picket line on Sunday. He stated the union has been preparing for a strike for 10 years. Despite recommending the tentative contract to its members, Holden said he understood why it was rejected, despite wage boosts and health plan improvements.
Workers are seeking a 40% pay increase over three to four years and other benefits, including the restoration of pension plans. Tensions between workers and Boeing have simmered since a 2014 contract extension transitioned union employees from pensions to a 401k. “Our members are angry,” Holden added.
The proposed contract would have increased average machinist earnings from $75,608 to $106,350 per year by its end. The strike has halted aircraft production, costing Boeing between $50 million to $100 million each day, according to analysts. Boeing builds the 737 Max, P-8 and E-7 in Renton, and the 767 Freighter, KC-46 Tanker, and the 777 and 777X wide bodies in Everett.
Maden said workers are fighting as much for respect as they are for higher wages and pensions. “We build quality aircraft, with a lot of lives depending on our work, so our input matters,” he said. “We deserve better pay, better respect, better pension, and a better work policy.” Most workers are prepared for a long strike.
“We knew Boeing would do something like this to us,” he said. “We are going to hold as long as it takes to make Boeing listen to us.”
Once his strike duty ended around 8 am on Saturday, Orlando decided to stay two more hours, hoping for a quick resolution that would benefit both Boeing and its workers, “but I am prepared for the worst.”
